Kevin O’Connell to speak at IBA Annual Conference in Vienna

On Wednesday 8 October, our Group Commercial Director Kevin O’Connell will be participating in a panel discussion at the prestigious 2015 International Bar Association Annual Conference in Vienna.

The global conference takes place from 4 to 9 October and constitutes the world’s largest gathering of the international legal community. With approximately 5000 to 6000 delegates from around the world, the conference offers more than 180 working sessions covering all areas of practice relevant to international legal practitioners.

Kevin’s extensive experience as a trustee has resulted in him being hand-picked to speak on a panel discussing trustees in the 21st century, presented by the Individual Tax and Private Client Committee. The session will focus on the new challenges faced by trustees, the impacts on their business and the best practices going forward. Issues to be covered include the Common Reporting Standard, cyber security, compliance issues, and capacity issues as a result of longer life spans.

The panel will be co-chaired by Roderick Balfour of Virtus Trust USA in London and Catherine Watson of McInnes Cooper in Nova Scotia, Canada. Kevin’s fellow panelists are Ellen Kratzer of Fiduciary Trust Company in New York, Christopher McCall of Maitland Chambers in London, and Henry Perren of Cidel in Ontario, Canada.

Kevin joined our Jersey business in 1995 as a Director. He held the role of Managing Director for five years before joining the Group Board and then taking on the role of Group Commercial Director in 2012. Prior to joining the business, Kevin worked as a private client lawyer in Ireland and holds a law degree (BCL) from the National University of Ireland. His current focus is on driving the organic growth strategy for the Group, whilst also retaining responsibility for a number of complex trust-based family relationships. In 2013, Kevin was named as one of the ‘Top 50 Most Influential’ by Private Client Practitioner in the UK.